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Blackjack
“The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic. Fear follows crime and is its punishment.” -Blackjack History The rogue known as Blackjack, who would plague the Final Empire and Arendur alike, was in fact, four people. A rogue, a necromancer, a mage, and a warrior were given the same identity within the nobility of the Final Empire - that of the Jack of Diamonds, to use the card-based nomenclature. Each of the four would adopt different duties, but were adept in the use of illusions to appear as the nondescript, human male rogue - their public face. Blackjack would rise to lead the Thieves' Guild in the capital of the Final Empire, making a profit from both sides of Jotunheim's Rebellion. It was here that he would run into, and make an enemy of Tolumvire of Arendur, from whom he would steal a time totem. Upon Arendur's sojourn into the past, Blackjack and his thieves - who were believed to number about forty men - would travel backwards as well, and set up operations in Arendur. Tolumvire would devote some effort to hunting him down, going so far as to encourage rival thieves to try and kill him to take his place. Nonetheless, Blackjack ensured his survival by making himself useful to Tolumvire, becoming so entangles in his schemes that he became indispensable. He would infiltrate Ragnarok during the Arendur-Ragnarok War, becoming Tolumvire's primary source of information on the ground. Upon Tolumvire's return from exile, Blackjack would become instrumental in his consolidation of power. Increasingly, he and his thieves began to act as a secret police and security agency for Tolumvire, performing arrests and assassinations at his bidding. Eventually, pretense was cast aside and Blackjack was acknowledged as an arm of the state, given the title of High Marshal within the Arendurian Army, his thieves now soldiers. He would perish in Oranor during the Demon Wars, dying a lingering and painful death. His last exchange would be with Tolumvire, who was unable to save him. The two had a frank and open conversation, without rancor, until Blackjack's passing. Personality Little was known of the personalities and identities of the mage, necromancer, and warrior who made up the other three identities of the Jack of Diamonds. The personality of the rogue who existed as Blackjack's public face was that of a complicated and frayed psyche. Charming when he wished to be, the guildmaster was always outwardly composed, always seeming to have a backup plan. He possessed an easy sense of humor and a disarming, sometimes mocking candor about his crimes. Inwardly, Blackjack was a soul in torment, his ego lost within his lies and shifting identity. He had a deeply somber side, and often acted as he did in accordance with his compulsions and the nature of the role he had a duty to play. He had become fixated upon money - not for the sake of greed, but as a way to keep count, one golden coin at a time. As he lay dying, Blackjack was quietly bitter yet resigned to his fate, pondering the afterlife with detached horror and musing about a life not truly lived. Category:Thieves' Guild Category:Arendur Category:Shield Campaign Category:Dead